Stumbled across one of your channels about a week ago and have been binge watching all of them ever since!! As a history freak & being insatiably curious, I can't get enough of the information you give us! Keep it up , Simon , I love the sound of your voice, & at 71, there isn't much else to do in the age of COVID 19 when I only go out when it's absolutely necessary & unavoidable!!
As someone who's been fortunate enough to visit and explore the Waitomo Caves, it really is a magical place. When I was there 7 years ago, there were two tour operators: The main one has a huge facility and is your typical tourist attraction vibe. The other, which I think was called "spellbound" was a much smaller and personable experience. We were in NZ right at the start of the Holidays and I'll never forget the experiences of being about 100a ft underground, with my friends (Were from he US) and the rest of the group who was from the UK, France, Begium, and Brazil. Singing Christmas Carols with the sparkling Glow worms as our only light. It was magical.
Simon could do a side projects on 'how many YT channels do I narrate for?' Or is that a mega projects? I keep discovering new ones. Keep up the talking!
Nice to see the Causeway included here. Incidentally if you come to visit it, don't park in the National Trust car park, it costs a fortune. You can park for free anywhere nearby and access to the Causeway is free on foot. The price of the National Trust car park has been quite the bone of contention locally. Just letting you know.
In the Catacombs, I think it’s a lovely testament to the deceased that their bones were turned into beautiful (if a bit macabre) designs and architecture. Instead of piles of bones, their remains have been turned into monuments.
Yup got Waitomo pronunciation right and yes the "crickets' are terrifying and called Wetas. I believe the Moari used them as stitches. Great work Simon.
@@DarkFire1536 Dont get me started on wētā, they have a large and diverse family tree, you have the tree wētā which is most common to me living in the north island and are scattered everywhere (often inopportune places such as shoes), then the type you will find in waitomo are the cave wētā which have giant oversized and spindly legs, then you have the incredible and terrifying giant wētās, among other genus of weta each with many species. NZ has some great examples of Island gigantism my favourite of which being the giant snail which weighs 6 times as much as the typical garden snail and has a shell measuring 9cm across and is among the biggest in the world, sadly I have only found the shells and have yet to see one of these behemoths alive.
Rod Sprague While I am not a big advocate of trying to build a universal Communist culture at gunpoint, we do need to restore monuments to our low points in history.
Hello from Prague, I know that communist dictatorship was terrible, but I definitelly didnt like how the commentator found it laughable. Without socialism not even Britain would have things like social insurance, vacation or public healthcare, and world would ve run by billionaires like Jeff Bezos, who pay minimum wage to their workers and then fly to space. People who have lived in 20s and 30s, whos parents remembered q9s century wild capitalusm, had full right to beleive in communism. Many people beleiced it sincerely and did a lot of good.
@@rodsprague369 let's build monuments right now then, so we remember how we lost 2+ million inhabitants in less than 30 years while the mafia runs loose
Simon, Salvation Mountain was built from HAY and paint. Yes donated statues, auto parts, pictures, etc are with the rooms and area, the bulk of it is hay and paint, dead tree branches are used on some of the supporting arches. I personally spoke with Leonard and we asked about cement abd bricks and he said no, only hay and paint.
Alright colour me confused. I thought I was binge watching Simon's channel which I found this evening ... Until I noticed the recommended videos are from a wide array of channels . Is this man the TH-cam king ? :P
Wow, I didn't expect to see Slab City on this. I loved to take visitors to Slab City and Salvation Mountain when I lived in Palm Springs. Just so unique. FWI, just down the road to the south banks of the Salton Sea are the mud pots of the San Andreas fault.
Have driven past turnoffs that would lead to the area on both the 8 & 10 multiple times. On my next excursion that way I'll be sure to give it some time.
I've been there, it was amazing, till one dickhead who didn't know or care about the no flash photography signs, took a photo, destroying everyone's night vision, there's always one.
as a NZ resident, definatly check the caves out... it's like looking up at the night sky with no light poloution... and yes sadly Brian, there is almost always that one...
@Jennifer Taylor While that may be true, and it is also true that Rome did the very same thing, but actually lost the battle against the north and ended up falling, nevertheless the basalt formations are not in fact man-made. No amount of horrible history will change that.
I went there back in 2015 with my sister and I've been trying to convince my fiance to go back for 2 years. Only problem is it's 20 hours away in the middle of nowhere
You know, after watching the Colossus episode I wouldn't mind seeing an episode on the largest statues (still standing) in the World, or maybe even of all time.
Waitomo is amazing, went there several years ago and still vividly remember it, highly recommend... while you’re in New Zealand, Milford Sound is another great place
Predatory glow worms are also found in caves in south eastern Kentucky. Just Google "glow worms in eastern Kentucky caves" and you'll find many articles and research papers on them.
You could do an entire episode on abandoned Soviet monuments! There are several others abd they're all strange structures. I've been fascinated with them for years.
Saw a video about Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. It is a strange place. Although it is a typical modest sized plot of land in terms of value, at least two billionaires have owned it as a pet project of study of the paranormal. Despite zero proof and hard evidence, with basically just witness experiences, it's hard to dismiss the interest. Billionaires who know nothing about ranching, let alone not owning a pair of jeans, want this otherwise unpectacular rural real estate.
13:21 I remember this story from a “Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks” episode. The fact I remember it in as good a detail as I do surprises me, and I thank you for reminding me of these childhood memories.
For 66+ years, I've heard so many mind buggeringly ridiculous things that people believe. People that see themselves as perfectly rational, normal, individuals, "that are nobody's fool..." And then you regularly present oddities, and some of the even more ridiculous stories attached to them... and, Surprise! I'm now convinced that I'll go to my grave, knowing that the extent of human stew-pid-it-tee --- has only begun to be explored. No horizon in sight. 😢
Wow, I had no idea that GTA V took inspiration from slab city and put it towards the alien camp in their game. You can definitely see the influence just from looking at the two
As if the Paris Catacombs weren't weird enough, you've got the added weirdness factor that Walt Disney originally wanted a Paris Catacomb themed tunnel to link the Haunted House to the Pirates of the Caribbean. He died before he could make anybody do it, though. All that remains of the plan is a bricked over arch that would have led into the tunnel.
I'm enjoying "Side Projects", because I've always sought out the weird & the unexplained. I think 'the body on the reservoir' might be weird enough to cover here, Simon!
That first one is a great example of Brutalism architecture which is hated by many (not I) but actually making a comeback. You could do an entire episode of the Spomenik that were built in the old Yugoslavia. there are over a hundred of them. If one of them cost 30 million I would say that the entirety of the all of them built could be a mega project.
My brother's room is a strange place indeed. Things get burried in the Cheetos dust and animie magazines scientists can't explain where the missing items (keys, ect) went but they never resurface and never to be found again.
3:42 A necromancer's wet dream I imagine. 6M potential soldiers for his undead army if he resurrected them all at once. Someone needs to make a movie based on that.
the amount of energy/sacrifice to accomplish such a feat would be massive. The reason necromancers like to hang out in crypts, is because there are so many dead bodies, they can summon them one at a time, and rest as needed instead of needing to overly exert themselves. Once you reach a critical mass, you unleash your horde and then summon a large quantity to replace them, for defence, as you rest until you're ready to summon again. summoning the undead is taxing work myfriend. one must be thoughtful and plan ahead if one it to succeed in dominating the world of the dead.
Herein the rub; if each of your soldiers requires their own unique set of original bones, there's going to be a _lot_ of pushing and shoving and waiting...
Hey Simon, you mentioned 'snow-birds' and showed Slab City (I think) in this video. It reminded me of film... if you haven't already seen it, check out the documentary, _Anerican Nomads,_ written, presented and narrated by journalist and feature writer, Richard Grant (NOT Richard _E._ Grant!). It's such an evocative film, with a sparse, yet outstanding soundtrack. It's awesome. Basically.
@SideProjects In western France Karnak(Carnac), while working an engineering project in France I saw what amazed me, it looked like 5 giants had a race to stack on their ends thousands of massive stones(The Carnac alignments). I have yet to understand why ordinary size humans would go to such colossal effort to approximately align massive stones, especially since they appear to come from quarries so far away. Please do a segment on this amazing location(or tell me did you cover it elsewhere else) SideProjects
If you do another video you could feature the Catatumbo everlasting lightning storm at Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela with over a million lightning bolts a year.
Those cool basalt formations are also in the Appalachian Range in the state of Maine in America, across the Atlantic but the same geologic formation. This is from back when the two continents were attached, before the ocean was there. Pretty neat.
Hey, I've actually been to two of these! As a former California native I had been to Slab City more than once out of morbid curiosity which were always strange experiences. In 2019 I got a chance to visit New Zealand for a gaming convention (ExileCon) and while I was there I checked out Hobbiton and Waitomo. I've wanted to become a NZ citizen ever since, the people and country were just so great.
Can you do an episode about ADE? It’s the biggest (dance) festival in the world held every year in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Dance Event is a week long electronic music festival with over 100 events and like a million visitors.
That'd be incredible to attend. I've been to events such as EDC and MM, and those were pretty sizable in there own rights, both being held in Southern California. However, I can't say that either has ever reached over a million visitors, but it has been a while since I last attended one. Fyi EDC = Electronic Daisy Carnival and MM = Monster Massive.
@@skyden24195 just did a little search and my milion estimate was a bit to large. Still 400k visitors to about 2000 events in about a week. Biggest events are in the Amsterdam Arena with about 30k visitors and DJs like Martin Garrix, Davis Guetta, Tiësto etc. It’s pretty awesome.
Good day Simon. How you doing? Massive NZ fan here. Those caves are pronounced ‘why-toe-mow’ You did well! Ps: been there... You “can’t” see the worms, but you can see their work. Recommend a visit. 100%
I would like to know the long term side effects of all the nuclear weapon tests that have gone on since the 40's. I'm sure all the radiation hasn't been good for the environment or our health.
You're marked. So am I. It's in our bones. Millennia from now, when our corpses are excavated, scientists will say "You see these isotopes? This one lived in the Nuclear Age!" 😉 (Probably not any actual medical effects nowadays though, unless you were there.)
@@Russo-Delenda-Est Indeed. I'd speculate that I have a high probability of increased radiation "influence" within me seeing that I was born in the southern Nevada desert during the mid 70's... just after the desert testings ended.
so lame. humanity has so much more to its legacy in the 21st century than some a virus with 99% survivability rate. i know it's a joke comment but some wouldn't think so.
@@patrickmccurry1563 Exactly. It's called "Covid 19" because it debuted in 2019 (not because there were 18 previous Covids as twits like Ted Nugent believe) so 2019 would be Year 1 of the Covidian Calendar. There was no "Year Zero" in the Gregorian calendar so the Covidian calendar might as well follow suit. Which means we're currently living in 2AV (After Virus or Anno Viridae, either works)
You almost got the pronunciation right! The giant crickets you’re referring too are probably weta. One of the largest insects in the world. Totally harmless, but terrifying haha pronunciation would be “Wai” pronounced “why”, and “to” with the “o” pronounced as in “off” short sound. Same with “mo” wai to mo. If the vowel has a macron as in ō it’s a long vowel sound and pronounced more like “oh”. But I’m far from knowing anything at all about Te Reo 😢
Manitou Beach, SK. In the middle of the North American continent and not connected to any other bodies of water yet it’s a salt water lake as salty as the Dead Sea and you don’t have to worry about knowing how to swim because the water is so buoyant that you just float on the surface.
If you have been to Alron Towers in the UK and been on the ride Hex. It starts off with a story about Rich nobleman who was cursed by an elderly woman that if a branch should ever fall from a certain, death shall fall upon his family. Then one night it was struck by lightning and a branch broke off. Sure enough a family member died. The nobleman then had the tree bound in chains to prevent further branches falling. Off. Some of the story told on this ride is true.. in the wood surrounding the village is a tree with a broken branch and is bound in chains from the either the 18th or 19th century. You should do a video on the true story of the Chained tree in the village of Alton
That would be a good "Sideprojects" as opposed to, say, the parachute. Funny enough, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Cradle of Life," which is (as of this posting) available on TH-cam movies, and I repeatedly keep watching, features our hero and her companion using said suits to escape baddies.
You got the pronunciation right for Waitomo Caves 👌they’re a great tourist attraction-you should go sometime. It’s a beautiful area of the world. Born in Blighty UK 🇬🇧 I live in New Zealand 🇳🇿 now 👌
The Thulean plateau is of course the setting for the cover art of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy". "Fingal's Cave" is the title of one of the many unused recordings created during Pink Floyd's sessions for the soundtrack for Antonioni's 1970 movie "Zabriskie Point". Death Valley and its Zabriskie Point are themselves mighty strange places.
If please do something on the salton sea. You mentioned it when you were talking about slab city but I've been waiting for you to do a Mega Projects Or geographicson it for a while
I'd love a video on the Bismarck battleship. I know you've done the Yamato and several aircraft carriers before, but the Bismarck was such a behemoth of German engineering (for better & for worse)
I got one that's pretty interesting I believe there's a place in Mexico where there's an underground cave full of Giant Crystals that looks a lot like Superman Fortress of Solitude.
My Grandmother told me a story about a tour she was on as a girl. The tour guide was a bit drunk and was pointing out stalactites and stalagmites when someone ask what are they call when they come together. He comes back with "mighty tight." I have always like that story and it's what I call them in my head.
Honestly really bloody close Waitomo is pronounced whytomo the a is silent but definatly the best pronunciation of a NZ name that I have heard on TH-cam I do applaude you Simon Māori place names aren't easy to pronounce especially for some outside of the country
That soviet monument looks like something right out of Star Trek, I'm sure I've seen something like it in TOS, which the commies couldn't POSSIBLY have seen to borrow designs from, of course... :P
Next time you do a weird/random structures video try to throw the Foam Henge in Virginia,USA. It's pretty funny, replica of Stone Henge...just made of giant blocks of foam and in the middle of nowhere
Quick Q. Do you have a twitter handler? I pretty much get my updates from there and just want to know if that is an option. While we are at that can you drop something about the Pyrenees?
*WOW - Im off to visit the communist flying saucer Hah Buzludza next week* - I live in Bulgaria and I have been waiting for the lockdown to end to go see it...
As a Bulgarian I can honestly say that most of us really don`t like Buzludha. Today it`s used by pro-Russians and communist especially from the Bulgarian Socialist Party a.k.a BSP (the renamed former Bulgarian Communist party a.k.a BCP) as a gathering place and a sort of temple to communism/place of pilgrimage and most of us really want to see it gone.
Thanks for this, the first one is by far the most imaginative and weird, I guess in part because I hadn't heard of it before. One thing I noticed was how video turned out to be quite the hodge lodge of measurements. All manner of meter, inch and feet are merrily mixed together. Perhaps providing both metric and freedom kernels base measurements would be possible? Also, while interesting, the slabs part had no pictures of said slabs at all, just seemingly random images of stuff - alledgedly linked to the site. If someone were to ask me what it looks like, I would have to confess I haven't the foggiest.
Stumbled across one of your channels about a week ago and have been binge watching all of them ever since!! As a history freak & being insatiably curious, I can't get enough of the information you give us! Keep it up , Simon , I love the sound of your voice, & at 71, there isn't much else to do in the age of COVID 19 when I only go out when it's absolutely necessary & unavoidable!!
Fascinating eggskull yes?
Same one year later
As someone who's been fortunate enough to visit and explore the Waitomo Caves, it really is a magical place. When I was there 7 years ago, there were two tour operators: The main one has a huge facility and is your typical tourist attraction vibe. The other, which I think was called "spellbound" was a much smaller and personable experience. We were in NZ right at the start of the Holidays and I'll never forget the experiences of being about 100a ft underground, with my friends (Were from he US) and the rest of the group who was from the UK, France, Begium, and Brazil. Singing Christmas Carols with the sparkling Glow worms as our only light. It was magical.
I've been to Waitomo as well. A magical experience, indeed.
I live in Auckland, never been, lol.
Simon could do a side projects on 'how many YT channels do I narrate for?'
Or is that a mega projects?
I keep discovering new ones. Keep up the talking!
He lists all of them if you click around on "description", "more..." and so on
Nice to see the Causeway included here. Incidentally if you come to visit it, don't park in the National Trust car park, it costs a fortune. You can park for free anywhere nearby and access to the Causeway is free on foot. The price of the National Trust car park has been quite the bone of contention locally. Just letting you know.
Are there other places you can park without blocking roads?
Also it is not in the uk
@@adamsandles8103 Sorry it is in the UK.
#6 - The basement that Simon keeps Danny in
Allegedly
According to some people's opinion.
I got a "❤️" . This is the proudest moment of my life!
This the proudest moment of my life! Simping for Simon!
Nah, it's just a regular sex dungeon.
In the Catacombs, I think it’s a lovely testament to the deceased that their bones were turned into beautiful (if a bit macabre) designs and architecture. Instead of piles of bones, their remains have been turned into monuments.
Definitely agree. They turned mass-graves into a beautiful display.
We still have this problem in Europe. Where I live bones are still pushed into a death pit once the lease of the plot is up.
Discovery channel, "Must be aliens"
Simon, "They are wrong."
*I'm not saying it was aliens...
because it wasn't.
"Ancient alien theorists say yes!"
Yup got Waitomo pronunciation right and yes the "crickets' are terrifying and called Wetas. I believe the Moari used them as stitches. Great work Simon.
Just Googled Wetas. Omg!
@@DarkFire1536 Dont get me started on wētā, they have a large and diverse family tree, you have the tree wētā which is most common to me living in the north island and are scattered everywhere (often inopportune places such as shoes), then the type you will find in waitomo are the cave wētā which have giant oversized and spindly legs, then you have the incredible and terrifying giant wētās, among other genus of weta each with many species. NZ has some great examples of Island gigantism my favourite of which being the giant snail which weighs 6 times as much as the typical garden snail and has a shell measuring 9cm across and is among the biggest in the world, sadly I have only found the shells and have yet to see one of these behemoths alive.
Maori
“Way-tomo” is not how it’s said. It’s “why-taw-maw”.
@@uncriticalthinkerNZ Agree, perfect pronunciation. I am not a fan of Weta, had one crawl up my trouser leg...on the inside!
Ima have to use that unbelievably assured Simon style
" they are wrong" 😂
The Buzludzha monument is really stunning in person and I hope the rennovation gets completed soon. Greetings from Bulgaria
Rod Sprague
While I am not a big advocate of trying to build a universal Communist culture at gunpoint, we do need to restore monuments to our low points in history.
Hello from Prague, I know that communist dictatorship was terrible, but I definitelly didnt like how the commentator found it laughable. Without socialism not even Britain would have things like social insurance, vacation or public healthcare, and world would ve run by billionaires like Jeff Bezos, who pay minimum wage to their workers and then fly to space. People who have lived in 20s and 30s, whos parents remembered q9s century wild capitalusm, had full right to beleive in communism. Many people beleiced it sincerely and did a lot of good.
Дано стане
@@rodsprague369 let's build monuments right now then, so we remember how we lost 2+ million inhabitants in less than 30 years while the mafia runs loose
We did build one for the Viet Nam War.
Simon, Salvation Mountain was built from HAY and paint. Yes donated statues, auto parts, pictures, etc are with the rooms and area, the bulk of it is hay and paint, dead tree branches are used on some of the supporting arches. I personally spoke with Leonard and we asked about cement abd bricks and he said no, only hay and paint.
yep, I was down there a few years ago and a big storm had washed a portion away, leaving wet hay and a lot of dejected faces.
"Some people still claim it is man made, they are wrong."
Well of course they are Simon, you just told us it was giants.
highly underrated comment
Alright colour me confused. I thought I was binge watching Simon's channel which I found this evening ... Until I noticed the recommended videos are from a wide array of channels . Is this man the TH-cam king ? :P
Wow, I didn't expect to see Slab City on this. I loved to take visitors to Slab City and Salvation Mountain when I lived in Palm Springs. Just so unique. FWI, just down the road to the south banks of the Salton Sea are the mud pots of the San Andreas fault.
Yes, Gary, awesome area. We go to the mud pots often. 😊
Have driven past turnoffs that would lead to the area on both the 8 & 10 multiple times. On my next excursion that way I'll be sure to give it some time.
Yay Waitomo!
The 'Wai' in Waitomo could be said like 'why'. Really appreciate your attention to pronunciation. :)
well you clearly havent seen him Blazeee did you? :D
I've been there, it was amazing, till one dickhead who didn't know or care about the no flash photography signs, took a photo, destroying everyone's night vision, there's always one.
Your right wai is water and tomo is hole in the ground I live not far from them 👍 wonderful place to visit
@@bjw4859 ha ha yes there's always some clot like that 🤔I'm glad you enjoyed the experience 👍
as a NZ resident, definatly check the caves out... it's like looking up at the night sky with no light poloution...
and yes sadly Brian, there is almost always that one...
The monument in Shumen (Bulgaria) was pretty interesting looking too. Looks a little better preserved too.
Been to Waitomo caves in Feb last year, quite amazing. The glow worm 'fishing lines' tend to drip on you as you float along in a boat.
I love Simon. "Some naysayers insist they were man made, - they're wrong" Tell em how it is Si.
@Jennifer Taylor While that may be true, and it is also true that Rome did the very same thing, but actually lost the battle against the north and ended up falling, nevertheless the basalt formations are not in fact man-made. No amount of horrible history will change that.
@Jennifer Taylor Two wrongs.
@@Inertia888 Wrong
Touring the Catacombs in Paris was awesome. I highly recommend it, especially if you find yourself in Paris and aren't into art.
Zhat iz where Shief Inspector Dreyfus wanted to put Clouseau
I was there in 1989
Don't forget to leave an offering on Jim Morrison's grave (above ground).
@@WindTurbineSyndrome 94 for me
I'm gonna suggest House on the Rock again. Weird doesn't even begin to describe it...
Even Neil Gaiman wrote about it. Rock on, yo!
I went there back in 2015 with my sister and I've been trying to convince my fiance to go back for 2 years. Only problem is it's 20 hours away in the middle of nowhere
@@zackmadden132 I’m a quick hour and fifteen minutes away. Try to go every year, buts it’s been a couple now.
I love that place!
@@billolsen4360 my absolute favorite roadside attraction. Just bonkers.
You know, after watching the Colossus episode I wouldn't mind seeing an episode on the largest statues (still standing) in the World, or maybe even of all time.
Waitomo is amazing, went there several years ago and still vividly remember it, highly recommend... while you’re in New Zealand, Milford Sound is another great place
Traveled there in in 1999 was very cool!
Predatory glow worms are also found in caves in south eastern Kentucky. Just Google "glow worms in eastern Kentucky caves" and you'll find many articles and research papers on them.
I Google "predatory glow worms in Kentucky" but all that came up was Mitch McConnell
You could do an entire episode on abandoned Soviet monuments! There are several others abd they're all strange structures. I've been fascinated with them for years.
Genuinely surprised that inside Simon's mind wasn't on the list
Only thing on Simon's mind is his next TH-cam channel. Mans gonna have 30 channels by next year
Infinite successful TH-cam channel ideas
We can't possibly know what's going on in the mind of a Time Lord. A dalek, yeah, but a Doctor? Nope
How about inside Simon’s beard?
I was waiting for something about his basement
Saw a video about Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. It is a strange place. Although it is a typical modest sized plot of land in terms of value, at least two billionaires have owned it as a pet project of study of the paranormal. Despite zero proof and hard evidence, with basically just witness experiences, it's hard to dismiss the interest. Billionaires who know nothing about ranching, let alone not owning a pair of jeans, want this otherwise unpectacular rural real estate.
13:21 I remember this story from a “Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks” episode. The fact I remember it in as good a detail as I do surprises me, and I thank you for reminding me of these childhood memories.
For 66+ years, I've heard so many mind buggeringly ridiculous things that people believe. People that see themselves as perfectly rational, normal, individuals, "that are nobody's fool..." And then you regularly present oddities, and some of the even more ridiculous stories attached to them... and, Surprise! I'm now convinced that I'll go to my grave, knowing that the extent of human stew-pid-it-tee --- has only begun to be explored. No horizon in sight. 😢
Weird to see Buzludza. I was there in 2019. It is really impressive and should be preserved.
Да
0:45 - Chapter 1 - Buzludzha monument (Bulgaria)
3:45 - Chapter 2 - The catacombs (France)
6:45 - Chapter 3 - Slab city (California)
9:35 - Chapter 4 - Waitomo glowworm caves (New Zealand)
12:10 - Chapter 5 - Giant Causeway (Ireland)
Great video!
We have glow worms at a place called Dismals Canyon in Phil Cambell, AL, USA. The species there is unique to that location.
Wow, I had no idea that GTA V took inspiration from slab city and put it towards the alien camp in their game. You can definitely see the influence just from looking at the two
Fun fact: Before communism, Bulgaria sided with the Nazi. It's a very rare case where a country is always on the wrong side of history.
"Wrong side of history" lol yeah okay pal.
As if the Paris Catacombs weren't weird enough, you've got the added weirdness factor that Walt Disney originally wanted a Paris Catacomb themed tunnel to link the Haunted House to the Pirates of the Caribbean. He died before he could make anybody do it, though. All that remains of the plan is a bricked over arch that would have led into the tunnel.
I have learned more from TH-cam videos then I ever learned in school and Simon Whistler is responsible for like 50% of that.
I'm enjoying "Side Projects", because I've always sought out the weird & the unexplained.
I think 'the body on the reservoir' might be weird enough to cover here, Simon!
Hah Buzludza monument have been used in more than one C-lister films as villains lair due to its interesting shape xD
(It’s actually spelled “lair”. [Hey-just trying to be helpful, that’s all!…])
Сериозно ли
Аз не знаех знам че звучи иронично ама не се ебавам
That first one is a great example of Brutalism architecture which is hated by many (not I) but actually making a comeback. You could do an entire episode of the Spomenik that were built in the old Yugoslavia. there are over a hundred of them. If one of them cost 30 million I would say that the entirety of the all of them built could be a mega project.
Croydon is often a strange place
Watch the movie The Gentlemen
Especially after midnight
Richard, I work there. In the town centre. Violent place.
Simon, how about St Patrick's Well in Orvieto, Umbria, Italy? It's a double helix dug in the mid 16th century.
Double helix dug in 16th Century! How much does it resemble DNA?
My brother's room is a strange place indeed. Things get burried in the Cheetos dust and animie magazines scientists can't explain where the missing items (keys, ect) went but they never resurface and never to be found again.
X-D nice.
It's a mystery even today....
3:42 A necromancer's wet dream I imagine. 6M potential soldiers for his undead army if he resurrected them all at once. Someone needs to make a movie based on that.
That is a great idea. Ash vs The Catacombs
the amount of energy/sacrifice to accomplish such a feat would be massive. The reason necromancers like to hang out in crypts, is because there are so many dead bodies, they can summon them one at a time, and rest as needed instead of needing to overly exert themselves. Once you reach a critical mass, you unleash your horde and then summon a large quantity to replace them, for defence, as you rest until you're ready to summon again.
summoning the undead is taxing work myfriend. one must be thoughtful and plan ahead if one it to succeed in dominating the world of the dead.
Herein the rub; if each of your soldiers requires their own unique set of original bones, there's going to be a _lot_ of pushing and shoving and waiting...
@@timfriday9106 protein bars, lots and lots of protein bars.
But how would that fit into the Marvel universe? You can’t just come up with a new idea and make it into a movie you know
Hey Simon, you mentioned 'snow-birds' and showed Slab City (I think) in this video. It reminded me of film... if you haven't already seen it, check out the documentary, _Anerican Nomads,_ written, presented and narrated by journalist and feature writer, Richard Grant (NOT Richard _E._ Grant!). It's such an evocative film, with a sparse, yet outstanding soundtrack. It's awesome. Basically.
Some people: It's Man Made!
Simon: They're wrong.
Me: Alrighty then, Aliens it is!
When we get into the dystopian future, people may think exactly that.
@SideProjects In western France Karnak(Carnac), while working an engineering project in France I saw what amazed me, it looked like 5 giants had a race to stack on their ends thousands of massive stones(The Carnac alignments).
I have yet to understand why ordinary size humans would go to such colossal effort to approximately align massive stones, especially since they appear to come from quarries so far away. Please do a segment on this amazing location(or tell me did you cover it elsewhere else) SideProjects
If you do another video you could feature the Catatumbo everlasting lightning storm at Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela with over a million lightning bolts a year.
9.8/10 for blaze!
Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.
Those cool basalt formations are also in the Appalachian Range in the state of Maine in America, across the Atlantic but the same geologic formation. This is from back when the two continents were attached, before the ocean was there. Pretty neat.
I love you, Simon. You are great at this.
I love the intro, straight to the point
Hey, I've actually been to two of these! As a former California native I had been to Slab City more than once out of morbid curiosity which were always strange experiences. In 2019 I got a chance to visit New Zealand for a gaming convention (ExileCon) and while I was there I checked out Hobbiton and Waitomo. I've wanted to become a NZ citizen ever since, the people and country were just so great.
01:57 why do those look so much like cartoon tanks, it's killing me 😂
Can you do an episode about ADE? It’s the biggest (dance) festival in the world held every year in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Dance Event is a week long electronic music festival with over 100 events and like a million visitors.
That'd be incredible to attend. I've been to events such as EDC and MM, and those were pretty sizable in there own rights, both being held in Southern California. However, I can't say that either has ever reached over a million visitors, but it has been a while since I last attended one. Fyi EDC = Electronic Daisy Carnival and MM = Monster Massive.
@@skyden24195 just did a little search and my milion estimate was a bit to large. Still 400k visitors to about 2000 events in about a week. Biggest events are in the Amsterdam Arena with about 30k visitors and DJs like Martin Garrix, Davis Guetta, Tiësto etc. It’s pretty awesome.
A side project video on Danny and his extreme living conditions is needed!
Further side project video Idea: Planes that have disappeared in the Bermuda triangle. The one with all those dive boomers.
Not sure which channel this would be best for but I think a video on the Salton Sea in California would be interesting.
Good day Simon.
How you doing?
Massive NZ fan here.
Those caves are pronounced ‘why-toe-mow’
You did well!
Ps: been there...
You “can’t” see the worms, but you can see their work.
Recommend a visit. 100%
Side Projects? A second Simon channel? Awesome. Will be difficult to juggle this and top 10s.
I would like to know the long term side effects of all the nuclear weapon tests that have gone on since the 40's. I'm sure all the radiation hasn't been good for the environment or our health.
The entire Salton Sea is an environmental disaster. ....then add radiation.... wow.
You're marked. So am I. It's in our bones. Millennia from now, when our corpses are excavated, scientists will say "You see these isotopes? This one lived in the Nuclear Age!" 😉
(Probably not any actual medical effects nowadays though, unless you were there.)
@@Russo-Delenda-Est Indeed. I'd speculate that I have a high probability of increased radiation "influence" within me seeing that I was born in the southern Nevada desert during the mid 70's... just after the desert testings ended.
Marked increase of thyroid dysfunction.
The Giants Causeway is on my bucket list of places to visit. Thanks for covering it.
The first one looks like one of those revolving restaurants.
So is "before covid" the new BC? that would make 2019 the new 1BC.
Could not have said it better. 😜
so lame. humanity has so much more to its legacy in the 21st century than some a virus with 99% survivability rate. i know it's a joke comment but some wouldn't think so.
How could Covid 19 start in 2020 to make 2019 1 BC?
@@patrickmccurry1563 you're a smart one...lol.
@@patrickmccurry1563 Exactly. It's called "Covid 19" because it debuted in 2019 (not because there were 18 previous Covids as twits like Ted Nugent believe) so 2019 would be Year 1 of the Covidian Calendar. There was no "Year Zero" in the Gregorian calendar so the Covidian calendar might as well follow suit. Which means we're currently living in 2AV (After Virus or Anno Viridae, either works)
Can u do a world's fair project, I'd like to know why they stopped and what they were, great videos!
i love how much you put Ireland in the vids
You almost got the pronunciation right! The giant crickets you’re referring too are probably weta. One of the largest insects in the world. Totally harmless, but terrifying haha pronunciation would be “Wai” pronounced “why”, and “to” with the “o” pronounced as in “off” short sound. Same with “mo” wai to mo. If the vowel has a macron as in ō it’s a long vowel sound and pronounced more like “oh”. But I’m far from knowing anything at all about Te Reo 😢
Manitou Beach, SK. In the middle of the North American continent and not connected to any other bodies of water yet it’s a salt water lake as salty as the Dead Sea and you don’t have to worry about knowing how to swim because the water is so buoyant that you just float on the surface.
If you have been to Alron Towers in the UK and been on the ride Hex. It starts off with a story about Rich nobleman who was cursed by an elderly woman that if a branch should ever fall from a certain, death shall fall upon his family. Then one night it was struck by lightning and a branch broke off. Sure enough a family member died. The nobleman then had the tree bound in chains to prevent further branches falling. Off. Some of the story told on this ride is true.. in the wood surrounding the village is a tree with a broken branch and is bound in chains from the either the 18th or 19th century. You should do a video on the true story of the Chained tree in the village of Alton
the strangest place on earth has to be the internet
Please give Antoine Lavoisier a proper Biographics video one day, he sure deserves one!
Slab city is a crazy place but interesting! Don't go at night.
Why not? Creepy, or dangerous?
@@GuntherRommel : dangerous
@@GuntherRommel both really. There's lots of druggies and the place isn't patrolled by sheriff deputies often.
@@albertlira7443 and to you "druggies" are automatically dangerous? Have you have a bad experience there?
@@ArchieStiglitz No, only the ones with knives that want your wallet and watch. The other ones are OK.
Another entertaining video Simon 👏👌
The nations of former Yugoslavia have a heap of bizarre concrete structures
Good vid Simon, thanks
NZ person here, gotta say your pronounciation of Waitomo was actually half decent, so good job with that Simon.
I live 4 hours from Slab City and I had never heard of it lol. Thanks Simon!
Can you please do an episode on the wing suit? A lot of people died in the creation of it and it would cool to hear their stories.
That would be a good "Sideprojects" as opposed to, say, the parachute. Funny enough, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Cradle of Life," which is (as of this posting) available on TH-cam movies, and I repeatedly keep watching, features our hero and her companion using said suits to escape baddies.
I think the "super-sized crickets" you are referring to are probably Cave Wetas. We also have Giant Wetas... harmless but scary as heck!
Have you ever done a video on Varosha, Famagusta in Cyprus?
You got the pronunciation right for Waitomo Caves 👌they’re a great tourist attraction-you should go sometime. It’s a beautiful area of the world. Born in Blighty UK 🇬🇧 I live in New Zealand 🇳🇿 now 👌
The Thulean plateau is of course the setting for the cover art of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy". "Fingal's Cave" is the title of one of the many unused recordings created during Pink Floyd's sessions for the soundtrack for Antonioni's 1970 movie "Zabriskie Point". Death Valley and its Zabriskie Point are themselves mighty strange places.
As a New Zealander, actually pretty impressed with your pronunciation of Waitomo
If please do something on the salton sea. You mentioned it when you were talking about slab city but I've been waiting for you to do a Mega Projects Or geographicson it for a while
I'd love a video on the Bismarck battleship. I know you've done the Yamato and several aircraft carriers before, but the Bismarck was such a behemoth of German engineering (for better & for worse)
So true
I got one that's pretty interesting I believe there's a place in Mexico where there's an underground cave full of Giant Crystals that looks a lot like Superman Fortress of Solitude.
My Grandmother told me a story about a tour she was on as a girl. The tour guide was a bit drunk and was pointing out stalactites and stalagmites when someone ask what are they call when they come together. He comes back with "mighty tight." I have always like that story and it's what I call them in my head.
Could say Parliament is probably one of the strangest places on the planet, but that is too obvious
The US House and Senate rank right up ( or down) there on strangeness scale
Honestly really bloody close Waitomo is pronounced whytomo the a is silent but definatly the best pronunciation of a NZ name that I have heard on TH-cam I do applaude you Simon Māori place names aren't easy to pronounce especially for some outside of the country
I've been to the Buzludzha monument, it's an amazing place.
You finally said it *correctly!* Great job!
SimonSays truth I love your channels thank you.
You can’t fool me - Dimitar Blagoev is Misha Collins wearing a funny beard
That soviet monument looks like something right out of Star Trek, I'm sure I've seen something like it in TOS, which the commies couldn't POSSIBLY have seen to borrow designs from, of course... :P
More like Blofelds lair from OHMSS
I thought it looked like the building that Thunderbird 3 launches through
I still prefer Groucho to Karl
@@blueberrypirate3601 Didn't Bond James Bond actually kill Blofeld by dumping him from a helicopter into an industrial chimney around 1978?
@@billolsen4360 say what you want about Karl Marx, but his writings sure have killed a lot of commies!
love your videos ty
I've been to Waitomo caves a few times and yes you pronounced it correctly. 👍
Glow worms!
Next time you do a weird/random structures video try to throw the Foam Henge in Virginia,USA. It's pretty funny, replica of Stone Henge...just made of giant blocks of foam and in the middle of nowhere
Quick Q. Do you have a twitter handler? I pretty much get my updates from there and just want to know if that is an option. While we are at that can you drop something about the Pyrenees?
*WOW - Im off to visit the communist flying saucer Hah Buzludza next week* - I live in Bulgaria and I have been waiting for the lockdown to end to go see it...
Cool. Can you show us some updated pictures after you've gone... or, given the modern age, while you're there?
lol. ;-)
As a Bulgarian I can honestly say that most of us really don`t like Buzludha. Today it`s used by pro-Russians and communist especially from the Bulgarian Socialist Party a.k.a BSP (the renamed former Bulgarian Communist party a.k.a BCP) as a gathering place and a sort of temple to communism/place of pilgrimage and most of us really want to see it gone.
I visited there last Xmas - an impressive structure, albeit dilapidated.
Thanks for this, the first one is by far the most imaginative and weird, I guess in part because I hadn't heard of it before.
One thing I noticed was how video turned out to be quite the hodge lodge of measurements. All manner of meter, inch and feet are merrily mixed together. Perhaps providing both metric and freedom kernels base measurements would be possible?
Also, while interesting, the slabs part had no pictures of said slabs at all, just seemingly random images of stuff - alledgedly linked to the site. If someone were to ask me what it looks like, I would have to confess I haven't the foggiest.
Simon, at 7:55 you show a scene with Saugaro Cactus. That is NOT California, and indeed can ONLY BE Arizona or Sonora MX. Thank you